MS City to Shore Ride

We did it!! On Saturday I, along with my sister Amy and friend Gretchen biked 45 (or a bit more) miles to raise money for MS. My brother-in-law Dallas biked 100!!! It was a long day/weekend, but we did it!!

I have never biked that far before, and while I’m not quite willing to say that it’s the most physically challenging thing I’ve ever done (hello, Napali Coast), it was up there.

We traveled to Philly on Friday night, and stayed with my good friends Becky and Tim, who made me a birthday cake!! After cake and a quick visit, we went to bed (it was late, we didn’t even get there til after 9:30). We set our alarms for 5 am and packed up and got started. We drove to the Cherry Hill, NJ area to drop off Dallas for his start. That start point is 75 miles from OC, NJ, and if he made it to the 48 mile mark by 11 am, he could do the Century Loop, which made it 100. We hit some traffic getting there and were nervous he’d make his cut off in time- but he did!!!

The three girls then traveled to the 45 mile start (it was supposed to be 50 miles, but they changed the location that week). Check in there wasn’t until 9:30 with a 10am start, so we were like the 3^rd people in the parking lot. So, we got ourselves ready and just waited. (just enough time to get all nervous).

At 10am we kicked off (Dallas called to say he was passing us right around that same time, but we didn’t connect). For our 45 miles there were 3 rest stops, one after 12 miles, then 10 miles, then 10 miles, which left 13 miles to the end. We stopped at each one to have a snack and refill our water bottles and stretch out a little.

We made pretty good time on the ride, averaging between 10-11 mph. It wasn’t fast (we were passed by about 5,000 people, I think I passed 7 people the whole day), but we still made good time. We lost the most time at the rest stops, which ended up taking about 30 minutes each time. We met up with Dallas at the last one, and continued on (mostly) together). We crossed the finish line at about 4:30 that afternoon. They had snacks and tshirts, etc, at the end, so we got those, and then at 6:30 hopped the shuttle bus back to our car, and headed home.

We were tired, a little sore (apparently me more than the others), but it was a good day. The finish line was really neat, because not only did I feel emotional about finishing (those last few miles were quite hard for me, with high winds and those bridges into OC, which I had to walk a little on); but the streets were lined with people who have MS, with signs and yelling thanks to us for doing it.

I am so thankful for the health and body that I have. I was glad to be able to spend my (almost) 30^th birthday challenging myself and doing something to raise money to help with a disease that affects so many.

If there’s anybody out there who reads this and doesn’t read my emails or FB, it’s not too late to donate to my team to fight against this disease. You can donate here. My goal was $500, which I passed, but you can always donate more to a good cause. Many thanks to you who have already supported!!!

See a few shots below - unfortunately all the pictures after the first stop are on Amy's camera - could be awhile til I see them - but I'll be sure to share them as well!

The Beckies w/ my cake. Thanks Bec!!! DELISH!

Gretchen and I with the bikes before the start

Amy and I waiting for the start

Gretchen (off in the distance) and Amy at the first rest stop - 11.something miles down!!

This is big...

This is a big week for me. On Saturday I will bike 50 miles as a fundraiser for MS. I’m doing this with my sister, friend, and brother-in-law. He (Dallas, my B-I-L) did the ride last year with his best friend, who has MS. His friend isn’t able to participate this year, so the 4 of us are doing it together (well, not quite. Dallas is riding 100 mi. the girls are doing 50 together). I’ve raised over $400 so far, and something I’ve found as I’ve worked at this is that everyone seems to have a connected with at least one person with MS. So, I’m glad to do something positive for a disease that affects so many.

I’m not sure that I’m really physically prepared for this. I’ve been exercising a little more than normal (which doesn’t take much), and biking some, but only a few times a month…. It is definitely going to be a challenge, because let’s be honest, I spend at least 11 hours a day just sitting on my butt. The most I’ve ridden to date is 23 miles. Hopefully I can successfully double that all in one day.

The other big thing this week (and part of the reason I decide to do this ride) is that I turn 30 on Sunday. I decided that I wanted to spend my birthday weekend doing something good, not something overly self-indulgent or stupid (we all know a lot of 30th birthdays that land in those categories).

I’ve decided that I’m not sure that I’m ready to turn 30. It’s a big number. I’m not sure I really accomplished enough in my life to be at this milestone already. I don’t own my house, I’m still single, my education and career paths have yet to cross.

I know that it’s happening no matter what. And I’m going to be okay with that. But I’m just putting it out there that I’m a little intimidated by this number.

We’ll see how I feel next Monday. I realize the closer it gets that I might have made a mistake doing this large physical challenge the day before I turn 30. I think that I’m likely to wake up Sunday morning and feel like I’m 60. So, hopefully, by next week, both my body and my spirit will begin to heal, and I’ll have all kinds of new ideas of what to accomplish next.